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At the time of writing this article, I am in my fourth posting, Surgery. Day 418 of my housemanship journey, pushing into my second month in Surgery, supposedly.
If there is any posting with the most amount of medical leaves taken by me, it is here, to the point that I overshoot my allocated medical leaves which resulted in my extension within the department.
Mind you, medical leaves.
During my tagging within the department, my body was weak enough that I fell sick, perhaps due to the lack of rest and overexertion. I was unable to keep up and eventually my body forced myself to take a break. The first time due to extreme fatigue, the second time, while I was still tagging, due to Covid-19 as well as extreme fatigue. I recalled coughing endlessly in the ward prior to my second take in medical leaves. On top of that, I was having low grade fever for days while coughing endlessly. Finally, one morning, I woke up and was unable to bring myself to work. Thus, the second time, I was given 3 days of medical leave to recover.
After that, I was back in the game, putting my best foot forward everyday, only to have my “best foot” suffered an ATFL, anterior talo-fibular ligament injury shortly after completing a month in this department. This led to my extension.
Ironically, I was at the hospital, right outside the emergency department when this occurred. As usual, I was on my phone, exiting the emergency department after taking my meds after a regular follow up. It happened to be my off day. Thus, I was informal, in dress and heels, well, wedged shoes to be exact.
I was descending a step when I accidentally misjudged my descent and fell down with my right foot inverted.
I didn’t think much of course, picked myself up and dragged myself back home, as I happened to live within walking distance. Post fall, I wasn’t able to ambulate properly as I was mainly dragging my right foot.
Somehow that didn’t click into my rational mind that something is amiss here. I mean, it’s normal post fall to pick yourself up, everybody falls on a regular basis, I think.
Upon reaching home, the pain was increasing in intensity and I was unable to stand and merely holding onto the wall for support. Perhaps, after a short nap or rest, it will get better. And so I did, rest.
That evening, I knew something was wrong, my right feet swelled up rather quickly and I was unable to dorsiflex. I immediately texted the house officer leaders in the department regarding my condition and decided to drag myself to the emergency department, fearing that it might be a fracture.
That was when I realised, I was unable to stable to stand or even bear weight over my right foot. I had no crutches nor a wheelchair. Dragging myself to the door is a nightmare, what more to the lift and to the hospital?
Oh dear.
Thus, my plans to drag myself to the emergency department were aborted. I needed help and I was lost on who to ask for assistance.
It was near midnight and by the time I dragged myself to the emergency department, it would be around 2-3am and since I am relatively stable with no active bleeding, I doubt I would be seen immediately. At least, that was my thought process, because it was during the wee hours.
Thus, I made the decision to wait for morning. Thankfully, my mother flew in from my hometown to assist me and we made our painstaking journey to the emergency department with the help of my lovely friend, Joyce.
During my visit that day, I was given a week of medical leave to rest my leg, recuperate with non-weight bearing ambulation over my right leg before going for another follow up in the orthopaedic clinic. That event itself had already led to a few days of extension as I have overshot my allocated amount of days. Thus, I travelled back to my hometown where it would be easier for my lovely parents to take care of me.
During my follow up, I was given an additional 2 weeks of medical leaves to which I am in, during the time of writing this article.
At the moment, I do not know if I have additional medical leaves until my next follow-up. However, I am trying my best to ambulate while still on crutches. The swelling has reduced and I can at least put my feet down and hold myself up in standing position. But ambulating, is still a nightmare and I feel like a child who has just started walking.
This condition had pretty much rendered me useless within the Surgical Department and being a House Officer, it is a physically demanding job which requires us to move swiftly and quickly while going about our active joblists.
The positive side of it is that I am given the unexpected rest that I probably needed as well as time with loved ones and family. I am finally able to catch up on my writing, podcast as well as indulge myself in some reading.
I felt taken cared of which is something I’m not used to as I would usually go about the daily chores myself as well as cooking. At the moment, I am being well taken cared of which I am extremely grateful and also which rendered me with a tinge of guilt.
However, I am not discouraged. I may be extended but that does not mean the end of my housemanship journey. It is merely time for me to heal and to return back to serve once I am completely healed or “back on my feet”.
If you have suffered an injury at work or an extension during your journey, do not be discouraged. It is merely an extra time and not the end of your journey. Do take the time to heal so that we are able to cater and serve others at our best.
Yes, it is our duty within the healthcare profession to take care of others which requires us to prioritise others before ourselves. It is merely the nature of our job. However, sometimes we tend to neglect our own health and forget that in order to serve and care for others best, we need to take care of ourselves too.
Thus, have hope and stay strong. Do take care of yourselves and appreciate the time off given. You do need it sometimes and you will definitely return stronger.
Related Posts:
- 1 Year Of Housemanship Update – Housemanship Diaries
- Another Good Advice I Will Remember For The Longest Time – Housemanship Diaries
- The Time I Turned A Baby’s Hand Blue – Housemanship Diaries
- My First On Night Experience In General Paediatrics – Housemanship Diaries
- My First On-Night Experience In Nursery Ward
- My Experience In General Paediatrics (Paeds 2B) – Housemanship Diaries
- Enjoying The Journey – Housemanship Diaries
- Housemanship Diaries: Surviving the Tagging Period in Paediatrics
- Tagging Day 1 In My Third Posting – Day 498 | Housemanship Diaries
- The Benefits Of Working During The Weekend / Weekdays As A House Officer | Housemanship Diaries
- The Joy Of Working The Night Shift As A House Officer
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